Cosmetics Companies Are Switching From Talc To Cornstarch Because of the Talc Asbestos Cancer Scare

Major cosmetics companies are quietly switching to safer cornstarch without re-branding their toiletry products or attracting much attention

Monday, May 11, 2020 - There is a possibility that cosmetics and personal hygiene companies will switch from using talc as the base of their cosmetic formula to cornstarch, a safer, cheaper, and overall better alternative. The urgency in making the switch could accelerate in the latter half of 2020 when some of the over 16,000 plaintiff's cases against Johnson & Johnson come to trial claiming that talc, the active ingredient in Johnson's Baby Powder and by association, thousands of other cosmetics contains asbestos and causes ovarian cancer and mesothelioma. Cosmetic companies like Johnson & Johnson, Revlon, Colgate Palmolive and, others have already been named as defendants in multi-million dollar lawsuits that claim their products contain cancer-causing asbestos from the talc from which they are made. Other companies may try and get ahead of what could be tens of thousands of lawsuits that accuse each of them of failing to adequately test their talc supplies for carcinogenic mineral contaminates. Johnson & Johnson pulled 33,000 bottles of Johnson's Baby Powder from store shelves last year when the FDA found asbestos in retail bottles of the product and that may only be the start of it. Some companies see the writing on the wall and are voluntarily making the switch from carcinogenic talc, to safe cornstarch. Talcum powder cancer attorneys provide legal representation for anyone involved in a talcum powder cancer lawsuit on a contingency basis and offer a free consultation.

According to Bloomberg.com Bausch Health, a leading maker of retail cosmetics and toiletries quietly got out ahead of their potential talc asbestos cancer problems without admitting that there could be a consumer health problem by making the switch from talc to cornstarch in their leading selling products. Bloomberg writes: "Bausch Health Cos. Inc., maker of Shower to Shower powder, said it reformulated the product last year to replace talc with corn starch as the active ingredient. The last lot of its talc product was distributed in February. The firm hadn't previously disclosed the switch. Bausch Health changed formulations for Shower to Shower to keep the product in line with market trends and customer preferences," Lainie Keller, a company spokeswoman, said in an emailed statement. This formula change was not made due to any safety concerns." An interesting side note is that "Shower to Shower" body hygiene powder was owned by Johnson & Johnson and is the target of accusations by more than 41 states in the US over its racially insensitive and false advertising targeting obese and African American women. "Shower to Shower used to be made by J&J. Valeant Pharmaceuticals Inc., Bausch's predecessor, bought the rights to the product in 2012 for $150 million, government records show," according to Bloomberg. Advertising using heavy-set, black women as models and the brand name "Shower to Shower" may have raced shame women into thinking that they were stinky and should use the product when they were too lazy to take a shower. Such a racially charged accusation was investigated and confirmed by Reuters. African American women may have been race-shamed into thinking that using Johnson's Baby Powder would make them feel and smell more like white women, according to Reuters. You can read the full article at https://www.reuters.com